Another famous temple in Pergamum was dedicated to the god Asklepios, the god of healing. Below the temple was the greatest hospital of the ancient world, often compared to the Mayo Clinic of its time.
The Serpent God
In Pergamum, Asklepios was represented as a serpent, which was different from the Greek version, where he was shown as a man. I took pictures of a marble pillar that likely came from his temple. This pillar now stands like an obelisk Customised Private Istanbul Tour.
Healing Methods in the Temple
The temple of Asklepios was a round building where people came for healing. The methods used for healing included both medicine and psychology, and they tried many different approaches.
The Healing Experience
Imagine going into long tunnels where you hear comforting voices telling you that you will get better. These voices say, “You are going to get well. You are going to feel better.” This sounds like something that could happen today, doesn’t it? Then, you would go to the hot baths where they give you a massage. There was also a theater where they performed plays related to healing Satan’s Throne in Pergamum.
If none of these methods worked, the last resort was to put you in the temple at night and let non-poisonous snakes crawl over you. This might sound like a strange treatment, but it was used to shock the person into healing. If the treatments didn’t work, they would secretly take out the dead bodies through a back door. They never talked about the people who didn’t get better, only those who recovered.
Caesar Augustus and the Temple
Caesar Augustus loved to visit this healing place. He wasn’t sick, but he was an alcoholic, and they helped him by drying him out every year when he visited.
A Satanic Healing System
For 700 years, people came from all over the world to be treated at this hospital. While some good men used medicine, the system itself was based on satanic practices. It was considered a place where Satan’s throne was, which is very important to understand.
